EDITOR’S NOTE: As 2023 draws to a close, we’re looking back at a variety of the year’s defining stories in our region.
SCHENECTADY — Two years after adult-use cannabis was legalized in New York, the Capital Region’s first dispensary opened in March, attracting both customers and controversy during its first year in operation.
Upstate Canna Co. opened on upper Union Street in the spring and immediately attracted lines down the block, and the constant queues rarely flagged as the summer arrived.
The customer base of residents 21 years of age and older eager to buy legal cannabis locally proved a boon to the shop, while also producing some anxiety for local businesses near the 1613 Union St. Some shops even left the area as 2023 wore on.
Upstate Canna Co. owner Don Andrews said on Friday that the shop’s first year in operation has surpassed his initial expectations.
“It’s been a huge success for us,” he said.
A number of local storefronts moved from the upper Union Street business district in the wake of the dispensary’s arrival, including Ferri Formals and Bridal, B. Inspired Home and Motor Oil Coffee. They either shuttered or announced plans to relocate within the city.
In response to business and resident complaints about the lines of Upstate Canna Co. snaking down Union Street, the Schenectady City Council began to explore zoning restrictions for future potential cannabis dispensary locations in the city.
The City Council continues to explore an overlay zoning proposal that would restrict dispensaries to limited commercial and industrial zones.
While any potential zoning changes would not affect Upstate Canna Co., Andrews said he believes that future dispensaries in the city should have freedom to choose their locations.
“Realistically, I think that any business owner or entrepreneur should be able to open up a business wherever they choose to,” he said.
State regulations prohibit cannabis dispensaries from setting up shop on the same road and within 500 feet of a school or on the same street and within 200 feet of a house of worship.
More to come
The Schenectady Planning Commission tabled a proposal in November that would convert a former bank building along Eastern Parkway into the city’s second cannabis dispensary.
The proposal, put on hold due to lack of details, would see ReliefLeaf, LLC convert the former Key Bank at 1610 Eastern Parkway into a cannabis shop.
Amsterdam Cannabis opened earlier this month, becoming that city’s first legal cannabis dispensary.
In October, the Saratoga Springs Planning Board approved a temporary special use permit for a third cannabis dispensary in that city. However, none of the locations have opened to date.
The city planning board has approved dispensary locations on Kaydeross Avenue West, Weibel Avenue and West Avenue, potentially making Saratoga Springs the local municipality with the most dispensaries if and when they open.
New York concludes 2023 with at least 37 licensed cannabis dispensaries in operation, with Capital District Wellness in Albany and 420 Bliss in Brunswick both opening in the Capital Region in December.